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Free courses teach essential computer skills

Getting ready to exit the military and wondering if your computer skills are up to speed for the civilian job world? There’s a reason to make sure you’re prepared: Workers who use computers in their jobs typically earn more than those who don’t — almost 17 percent more, according to a 2004 study from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The good news is, as part of the most technologically advanced military in the world, chances are you have at least some computer training on your plate. The bad news? Those skills may be highly specialized and have limited applicability in most civilian careers.

And even if you’ve done your share of reports in Microsoft Word, spreadsheets in Excel or PowerPoint presentations while in uniform, don’t assume your talents are polished enough to pass muster on the outside. Take the case of retired Lt. Col. Phil Upperman. After leaving the Army a little more than a year ago, with 28 years of service under his belt, Upperman found himself at a recruiting agency, being tested on the finer points of Excel.

“I thought I was quite familiar with Excel, PowerPoint and those kinds of things that we routinely use in the military,” he said. “They tested me in Excel, and I only got about an 80 percent.”

Not a dismal score by any means, but it did leave plenty of breathing room for job-seekers with higher scores.

“If you are getting out, you can bone up on [computer skills] and prepare for any kind of exam you may encounter when you get out,” Upperman said. He believes strongly in the importance of good computer skills — so strongly, in fact, that today he’s a regional director of military programs for Giant Campus, a company that provides technology training, consulting and staffing services to private-sector corporations, the military, the federal government, and youth and education markets.

Giant Campus

If you doubt the adequacy of your computer skills, have no fear: Giant Campus and a growing number of other educational opportunities are available to those interested in learning — or improving upon — technological skills.

Best of all, there are enough free services out there that you never have to spend a dime.

Giant Campus began its affiliation with the military in 2003 at the Army’s Fort Lewis, Wash.

Since then, the company has expanded its free technology training to seven other installations, according to David Kinard, the company’s director of marketing. Long-term programs exist for MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.; Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.; McChord Air Force Base, Wash.; and forts Richardson and Wainwright in Alaska, in addition to the Fort Lewis location. Short term programs exist at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Giant Campus courses are available on-site at the installations, online or via CD. Hundreds of courses — from Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access, to digital photography, animation and Web design — are available free to active-duty soldiers, reservists, retirees, Defense Department civilians and their respective families, Kinard said.

You don’t have to live on one of the participating installations to receive the benefit, but you do have to be affiliated with one.

A soldier stationed at Fort Lewis can use the online services while deployed to Iraq. A National Guardsman from Camp Murray in Tacoma, Wash., can take advantage of the Giant Campus program because Camp Murray is affiliated with Fort Lewis. But an airman at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., which does not have a contract with Giant Campus, may not use the online courses offered at MacDill, McChord or Nellis.

Courses in the Microsoft Office suite tend to be Giant Campus’ most popular offerings at MacDill, though the so-called “recreational” courses such as digital photography and graphics are in high demand, said Bob Haunton, a retired Navy chief warrant officer who serves as another of Giant Campus’ regional directors of military programs.

The professional training courses in the Microsoft Office suite also are popular at Fort Lewis, Upperman said.

“[It’s] professional-level training,” he said. “People at staff level will come in and learn what they need for free instead of having to take a class somewhere they have to pay for.”

And while the Giant Campus program is nonaccredited, Upperman points out that the quality-of-life component of the courses can pay immeasurable dividends down the road.

“It’s about feeling confident in your computer skills so you can go out in the real world and communicate,” he said.

No Giant Campus? No problem

What are your options for acquiring better computer skills if you’re not affiliated with a Giant Campus installation?

There are many. GCF Global Learning, for example, is a completely Web-based program that provides free computer and life-skills training to hundreds of thousands of learners worldwide. Through a combination of courses and tutorials, the program offers computer training in areas ranging from computer basics and the Internet to the Microsoft Office suite.

Life-skills training areas include math basics, money basics and career development.

The GCF Global Learning program is relevant to military members who after two or 22 years in the service find they need to update their computer skills to be marketable in the work force, said Courtney Hodgson, GCF Global Learning marketing specialist.

Giant Campus’ Upperman agrees.

“We ... work with people who are retiring. They come in and they boost their resume, boost their skills. So if they are tested by a company, they know they can be confident that they can pass the test,” Upperman said. “At Fort Lewis, O-6s all the way down to privates take courses. Especially the senior NCOs and officers will come in and take courses to prepare themselves for retirement.”

Five of the top 10 fastest growing jobs are computer-related, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: computer engineer, computer support specialist, systems analyst, database administrator and desktop publishing specialist. But sharp technological skills are important even for those who don’t work solely with computers.

“Computer skills are in such high demand right now,” GCF Global Learning’s Hodgson points out. Even people who work in manufacturing and shipping have to know how to use a computer in order to use the Internet or even to fill out the original job application, she said. “And so I think that for these individuals in all stages of life, being able to acquire these fundamental computer skills, there is a growing need every year, regardless of occupation.”

Indeed, employment experts say more and more jobs require at least basic computer skills, such as composing documents, sending and receiving e-mail, and creating presentations.

Giant Campus instruction is part of a three-week training program for new airmen at MacDill, evidence that military leaders recognize the growing importance of good computer skills, too, Haunton said. Giant Campus also participates in a noncommissioned officers course at the base.

And at Fort Lewis, Upperman said Giant Campus recently trained a military police National Guard unit preparing for deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the finer points of Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

“I’ve been associated with the military since ’74, and I’ve not seen such a viable, productive service to people in the military, especially in this day and age of technology and communication,” Upperman said.